After 15 years of development, the ‘reactive puzzle game’ Storyteller is out next week, so here’s a launch trailer

15 years after its first appearance, the tale-spinning puzzle game Storyteller is just one week from release. Publisher Annapurna Interactive dropped a new trailer today to tell the world that it’s coming to Steam (opens in new tab) (and the Nintendo Switch, if you’re into that) on March 23.

The concept of Storyteller is pretty simple: You’re given a selection of characters, settings, themes, and comic-book panels, and must put them together to tell a story. Where it gets interesting is in the way the puzzle pieces react to each other, which is how the stories actually emerge.

“Manipulate secrets and desires, slay monsters (or terrorize people with them), betray lovers or bring them together,” Annapurna said. “As supernatural fantasies, Shakespearean tragedies and myths of creation cross the page, players must use their wits to retell each iconic tale—or create a new story altogether.”

Getting Storyteller to the finish line has been, to put it mildly, a slow process. It actually began life in 2008 as a browser game (opens in new tab); four years later, it won the Nuovo Award for “abstract, shortform, and unconventional game development” at the 2012 Independent Games Festival. The alpha-state video on YouTube followed a year after that, and five years after that, developer Daniel Benmergui announced a partnership with Annapurna, which he said meant “we *have* to finish it (opens in new tab).” A more refined version of the game appeared in Annapurna’s online showcase in 2021, which is where I first took notice of it, and now today, finally, here we are.

Alongside the game, March 23 will also see the release of the “original official master soundtrack,” with 18 “fleshed out” tracks based on the in-game music. It looks like it could be weird.